Bessemer wants a new city hall to replace its present 1930s-vintage facility. Photo by Larry O. Gay.

BESSEMER, Alabama -- Bessemer still needs a new city hall to replace its outdated
Depression-era building on Third Ave. North.

However, the Jehovah's Witnesses Assembly Hall on Second
Ave. North would be too expensive to buy and retrofit, so the city needs to "go
back to the drawing board" and explore other options.

This was the recommendation made to the Bessemer City
Council by Mayor Kenneth Gulley during a pre-council meeting Tuesday.

"I think this is a reasonable recommendation," said Council
President Ron Marshall.

Later, during its regular meeting, the council would
vote, as part of its consent agenda, to allow Gulley to terminate a 60-day
commercial sales agreement with the Jehovah's Witnesses. The city needed to
make a decision by December 1, the agreement's end date.

The Jehovah's Witnesses want $1.4 million for the building,
and it would require about $2.5 million to renovate for use as city hall, the mayor told the council, citing architects who looked at the facility on the
city's behalf.

"Looking at the cost of the building and what it would cost
to convert it, I cannot see that its cost-efficient to put that type of money
into that facility," Gulley said.

The mayor did not completely reject the possibility of
purchasing the property. However, he said that the Jehovah's Witnesses would
have to come down dramatically on price. This is not likely, he said, because
they had already reduced their original asking price of $1.8 million. "They may
not be willing to negotiate any farther," Gulley said during pre-council.

Marshall asked the mayor if he had
considered any other options, including the old First Presbyterian Church
downtown that the city looked at earlier this year.

"'We can look back at the facts on that," Gulley said. "I'd
like to explore some other options as well."

One of those options, he said, could be tearing down the old
City Hall and building a new one on land the city already owns. "Let's look
at how much that would cost us," he said.

Gulley noted that if the council wishes to look back at the
Presbyterian church, they already have information compiled during due
diligence earlier this year. According to the mayor, the estimated cost of
renovation for the church is $850,000 to $1.2 million.

There was discussion during pre-council of another
time-sensitive issue, the need for the city to decide what to do with the
100-acre Frank House Municipal Golf Course, the city's only municipal course,
before December 1.

Longtime operator and course professional Lee Harper
operated the course on a month-to-month lease until his death in February.

Harper's wife has operated the course since then but has
told the city she will no longer do so after November 30.

"That's what we're up against," Gulley said.

Gulley announced that he and the city's Golf Course Committee
will meet at City Hall Monday, November 26, at 1 p.m., to hear proposals from
two parties who wish to operate the course, both of whom say they are willing
and able to lease and operate the facility as of December 1.

One of those offering a proposal is Charles Miller, a former
golf student of Harper's who worked as his assistant for two years before his
death and who has worked as the professional at the Bessemer course since that
time. The other person offering a proposal, according to Gulley, is James
Owens, a retired educator and owner of a fencing company.

The issue was discussed in a planning session last week. However, Gulley said, "I think we just need to hear back from both of them a
little more before we make a recommendation on that."

Gulley said that he and the committee will hear the
proposals Monday and make a recommendation to the council.

Any agreement the city reaches with an operator for the
course must be sent for review by the Alabama Department of Economic and
Community Affairs (ADECA). The course was an outdoor recreation project
partially funded by ADECA and the National Park Service and cannot be used for
any other purpose.

"Time is of the essence because that person will have to be
submitted to ADECA, as well," Gulley said during the main council meeting.

Among other business addressed Tuesday, the council passed
an ordinance that would allow the city to save some money for the Bessemer
Public Library by refinancing some $4.6 million in warrants. According to
Gulley, the refinancing will save the llbrary about $63,000 per year over the
life of the bonds, through 2030.

The council appointed Audrina Hines to fill a vacancy on the
Library Board. Hines was nominated by council member Sarah
Belcher.

As part of its consent agenda, the council approved
contracts between the city and nine non-profits, including Meals on Wheels,
Assistance League Birmingham, the Bessemer Red Cross and the Clay House
Children's Center.

"These are all worthy agencies and do a valuable service,"
Marshall said during pre-council. "I'm glad the city is in a position to offer
this kind of support."

The mayor's office will get a new car, with the council approving the purchase of a Ford Taurus for about $33,000.

Gulley also reported to the council that the city recently
was able to obtain a payment of $310,000 in back occupational taxes for a
period from 2008 through March 2012 from the Mueller Co., which formerly owned
the U.S. Pipe mini-mill. This money will go back into the city's general fund,
according to Gulley.

The mayor said that the city held an auction of old
equipment on Friday, November 16, and raised about $85,000.